TY - JOUR
T1 - Molecular epidemiology of clinical filamentous fungi in Qatar beyond Aspergillus and Fusarium with notes on the rare species
AU - Salah, Husam
AU - Houbraken, Jos
AU - Boekhout, Teun
AU - Almaslamani, Muna
AU - Taj-Aldeen, Saad J.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF), a member of Qatar Foundation [grant NPRP 5-298-3-086 (to S.T-A. and T.B.)]. Open Access funding provided by Qatar National Library.
Funding Information:
This study was supported by Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF), a member of Qatar Foundation [grant NPRP 5-298-3-086 ( to S.T-A. and T.B.)]. Open Access funding provided by Qatar National Library.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2023.
PY - 2023/1/1
Y1 - 2023/1/1
N2 - Due to an increasing number of patients at risk (i.e., those with a highly compromised immune system and/or receiving aggressive chemotherapy treatment), invasive fungal infections (IFI) are increasingly being reported and associated with high mortality rates. Aspergillus spp., particularly A. fumigatus, is the major cause of IFI caused by filamentous fungi around the world followed by Fusarium spp., however, other fungi are emerging as human pathogens. The aim of this study was to explore the epidemiology and prevalence of the non-Aspergillus and non- Fusarium filamentous fungi in human clinical samples over an 11-year period in Qatar using molecular techniques. We recovered 53 filamentous fungal isolates from patients with various clinical conditions. Most patients were males (75.5%), 9.4% were immunocompromised, 20.7% had IFI, and 11.3% died within 30 days of diagnosis. The fungal isolates were recovered from a variety of clinical samples, including the nasal cavity, wounds, respiratory samples, body fluids, eye, ear, tissue, abscess, and blood specimens. Among the fungi isolated, 49% were dematiaceous fungi, followed by Mucorales (30%), with the latter group Mucorales being the major cause of IFI (5/11, 45.5%). The current study highlights the epidemiology and spectrum of filamentous fungal genera, other than Aspergillus and Fusarium, recovered from human clinical samples in Qatar, excluding superficial infections, which can aid in the surveillance of uncommon and emerging mycoses.
AB - Due to an increasing number of patients at risk (i.e., those with a highly compromised immune system and/or receiving aggressive chemotherapy treatment), invasive fungal infections (IFI) are increasingly being reported and associated with high mortality rates. Aspergillus spp., particularly A. fumigatus, is the major cause of IFI caused by filamentous fungi around the world followed by Fusarium spp., however, other fungi are emerging as human pathogens. The aim of this study was to explore the epidemiology and prevalence of the non-Aspergillus and non- Fusarium filamentous fungi in human clinical samples over an 11-year period in Qatar using molecular techniques. We recovered 53 filamentous fungal isolates from patients with various clinical conditions. Most patients were males (75.5%), 9.4% were immunocompromised, 20.7% had IFI, and 11.3% died within 30 days of diagnosis. The fungal isolates were recovered from a variety of clinical samples, including the nasal cavity, wounds, respiratory samples, body fluids, eye, ear, tissue, abscess, and blood specimens. Among the fungi isolated, 49% were dematiaceous fungi, followed by Mucorales (30%), with the latter group Mucorales being the major cause of IFI (5/11, 45.5%). The current study highlights the epidemiology and spectrum of filamentous fungal genera, other than Aspergillus and Fusarium, recovered from human clinical samples in Qatar, excluding superficial infections, which can aid in the surveillance of uncommon and emerging mycoses.
KW - filamentous fungi
KW - invasive fungal infections
KW - Middle East
KW - molecular epidemiology
KW - Qatar
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85146193347&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/mmy/myac098
DO - 10.1093/mmy/myac098
M3 - Article
C2 - 36592959
AN - SCOPUS:85146193347
SN - 1369-3786
VL - 61
JO - Medical Mycology
JF - Medical Mycology
IS - 1
M1 - myac098
ER -